Roster - Software Developer and Metadata Engineer Consultant for Open Code Infrastructure (OCI)
International Telecommunication Union (ITU)
Roster/Talent Pool INTERNATIONAL TELECOMMUNICATION UNION
ITU is the leading United Nations agency for information and communication technologies, with the mission to connect the world. To achieve this, ITU manages the radio-frequency spectrum and satellite orbits at the international level, works to improve communication infrastructure in the developing world, and establishes global standards that foster seamless interconnection of a vast range of communication systems.
ITU applies a zero-tolerance policy against all forms of harassment. ITU is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization. Achieving gender balance is a high priority for ITU.
Roster - Software Developer and Metadata Engineer Consultant for Open Code Infrastructure (OCI)
Vacancy notice no: 2314
Sector: TSB
Department: SPD
Country of contract: Switzerland
Duty station: Geneva
Position number: [[positionNumber]]
Grade: [[PositionGrade]]
Type of contract: Roster
Duration of contract: Three months
Recruitment open to: External
Application deadline (Midnight Geneva Time): 31 December 2026
ORGANIZATIONAL UNIT
The Telecommunication Standardization Bureau (TSB) fulfills the objectives of the Union relating to telecommunication standardization, by providing secretariat support to groups studying technical, operating and tariff questions and facilitating the adoption of Recommendations in these areas with a view to standardizing telecommunications and information technology on a global basis. In order to achieve these objectives, the Telecommunication Standardization Bureau works in accordance with the instructions of the World Telecommunication Standardization Assemblies (WTSA), Telecommunication Standardization Study Groups and the Telecommunication Standardization Advisory Group. TSB, headed by an elected Director, provides the technical, administrative and logistic support for the assemblies and for the meetings of the groups mentioned.
Within the Telecommunication Standardization Bureau (TSB), the Study Groups and Policy Department (SPD) is responsible for the development of standards, international numbering resources, bridging the standardization gap, and policies guiding ITU-T and the maintenance of its relevant position in the global standardization arena. It oversees the implementation of the WTSA Action Plan, and is responsible for identifying emerging technologies and analysing technology trends in order to advise membership on emerging standardization developments. The Department is also responsible for the Bureau's human resources and finance.
The Global Initiative on Artificial Intelligence for Health (GI-AI4H), jointly operated by ITU, WHO, and WIPO since its launch in July 2023, continues the work of its predecessor, the ITU/WHO Focus Group on AI for Health (FG-AI4H, 2018–2023), on establishing an international framework for the evaluation and benchmarking of AI in healthcare. As part of this effort, two web platforms have been developed and are in active use by the international health AI community:
Both platforms require ongoing development, maintenance, and operational support. In addition, GI-AI4H contributes to open standards for dataset metadata interoperability. The Croissant metadata format (https://github.com/mlcommons/croissant), developed by MLCommons, is a key building block for FAIR dataset descriptions. Work is underway to achieve dual compatibility between Croissant and Bioschemas (schema.org/Bioschemas) so that health datasets can be described once and validated against both standards. This requires targeted contributions to the Croissant open-source repository or the development of a BioCroissant extension. The objective of this consultancy is to carry out full-stack development and operations activities across the Open Code Infrastructure (OCI) platform.
Under the guidance of the Senior Telecommunication Engineer and in collaboration with the team developing for open-code software packages based on ITU/WHO Focus Group on AI for Health (AI4H) specifications under OCI and carrying out applied AI4H audits. Specifically, the consultant will carry out full-stack development and operations activities across both platforms, organized into the following areas:
Education:
University degree in computer science, software engineering, information technology, or a related field OR education from a reputed college of advanced education, with a diploma of equivalent standard to that of a university degree in one of the fields above.
Experience:
At least three (3) years of progressively responsible experience in software development and documentation for the relevant technical areas below.
Languages:
Knowledge of English at advanced level. Knowledge of another official language of the Union (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian, Spanish) would be an advantage.
Between CHF 1000 and CHF 1500 lumpsum to be defined according to the work experience of the consultant and to be paid in monthly instalments upon satisfactory completion and submission of the deliverables.
INFORMATION ON RECRUITMENT PROCESS
Please note that all candidates must complete an on-line application and provide complete and accurate information. To apply, please visit the ITU career website. The evaluation of candidates is based on the criteria in the vacancy notice, and may include tests and/or assessments, as well as a competency-based interview. ITU uses communication technologies such as video or teleconference, e-mail correspondence, etc. for the assessment and evaluation of candidates. Please note that only selected candidates will be further contacted and candidates in the final selection step will be subject to reference checks based on the information provided. Messages originating from a non ITU e-mail account - @itu.int - should be disregarded. ITU does not charge a fee at any stage of the recruitment process.
